stuff of fools
by clipped.amaryllis
Summary: And she sobbed, just that one time, and I smiled because it was for me. BalthierxFran. unofficial 1 sentence challenge


**Disclaimer**: emo fox ATTACK does not own **_Final Fantasy XII_** (obviously)

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**#01- Apprehension**

The Ivalice of the humes was not what Fran expected it to be, and she wondered if her strength would fail her here, too.

**#02- Sight-seeing**

He spent his first year as a sky pirate taking in the sights of Ivalice, but nothing he had seen quite compared to when he had first lain eyes on the viera.

**#03- Learning**

"It is not as difficult as I thought it would be," Fran said as she fiddled with the controls of Balthier's airship.

**#04- Questions**

He wanted to ask her why she left, but somehow, he thought he already knew.

**#05- _Strahl_**

The _Strahl_ was faster than their old airship, thus her skills as a navigator were finally put to test: she took comfort in knowing Balthier believed in her.

**#06- Looting**

She seemed hesitant, and Balthier grinned: "My lady, this is the life of a sky pirate."

**#07- Silence**

Balthier was a special hume, she mused, for he realized that although she was no longer of the Wood, she was a viera.

**#08- Clouds**

Fran's hair was magnificent, white and thick and soft as the clouds.

**#09- Home**

They both found it unnecessary to discuss their pasts: now, all they had was each other.

**#10- Frustration**

"Fran, what is it that you want from me?" Balthier asks, to which Fran responds with a cool stare.

**#11- Family**

"Family is forever, a part of us that can never be erased, or forgotten, no matter how hard we try to escape," Fran says, knowing that Balthier now knows that they are the same that way.

**#12- Spark**

He had not been so lucky in his most recent encounter with Ba'Gamnan, and as he lay bleeding, he saw something he had never seen in Fran's eyes: fear.

**#13- The Nethicite**

The stone was a harbinger of ill-fortune, and she wished she had told Balthier to let it alone.

**#14- Rats**

And Balthier was ashamed, for he knew that Fran was too good to be running amongst such vermin.

**#15- Nalbina**

The situation was dire, but Balthier wanted nothing more than to find a shadowed room and have her against the wall.

**#16- Candlelight**

With the light dancing across her face, Fran became something that the word beautiful could not describe.

**#17- Madhu**

Fran was the spirit of the Bujherban wine personified, with her red-amber eyes and smooth seductiveness: Balthier had been hooked from his first taste.

**#18- Happiness**

"Then it's settled; we should leave before the Marquis realizes she's missing, like proper kidnappers," and there is a lilt in her voice that had not been there.

**#19- Auto-pilot**

They would sit together in the den, Balthier's head in Fran's lap as she'd mindlessly run her fingers through his hair.

**#20- First-Time**

And she wonders just why they have waited so long.

**#21- Fear**

If she were to leave him, well, he just doesn't know.

**#22- Leather**

"The pants suit Balthier well, no?" Fran said with a little laugh, watching as Vaan squirmed uncomfortably.

**#23- Temptation**

"Nothing will come of it, Fran: he just admires me," but Fran's silence was stony.

**#24- Regrets**

She knew that her path was set but sometimes, she wonders if things would have been better if she stayed.

**#25- Gossamer**

When Balthier said that the gauze covering Fran's stomach served no purpose but to entice him, her smile was answer enough.

**#26- Ice**

"He is much warmer than I am," she spat.

**#27- Mist**

"Does the mist heighten all of your emotions?" Balthier said with a leer.

**#28- Injury**

"This seems to have become a habit," Fran murmured as she bandaged Balthier's wrist.

**#29- Future**

"We must focus on the present, my dear; we both know what the future holds for us."

**#30- Secrets**

They both had them, but found it unnecessary, and rather unbecoming, to pry.

**#31- Weapons**

Balthier knew Fran favored bows, but loved it when she used greater swords just so he could watch the particular swaying of her hips that they caused.

**#32- Rings**

Fran wouldn't admit it, but what had initially attracted her to Balthier were his rings; colors like that there were not to be found in her village.

**#33- Smirk**

"You are the true leading lady," he says, and she shakes her head with a smile.

**#34- Lies**

"There are some things that are best left alone," Fran says, but she cannot meet his eyes.

**#35- Eruyt**

He realizes it is worse for her, because he can become Ffamran if he wishes: never again can she be Fran of Eruyt.

**#36- Trophy**

"It was like that at first, I'll admit, but not anymore," he says and she smiles, because she knows it's true.

**#37- Expectations**

"I expect nothing of you, Balthier," Fran says, and he flinches, knowing she meant the remark to hurt: it did.

**#38- Responsibility**

Fran sees Mjrn in Penelo, and even Vaan, and so she guides them when she can.

**#39- Heels**

"Quite impractical at times, aren't they?" and he chuckles when her eyes flash down to his own shoes.

**#40- Distance**

Mutual understanding cannot always bridge the gap between hume and viera: Balthier and Fran know this, but still try.

**#41- Phon Coast**

Balthier is pleasantly surprised to discover that Fran has a real bikini for swimming, and that it is even more revealing than her usual attire.

**#42- Broken**

"Balthier, are you-" but this time, he doesn't kiss away her fears.

**#43- Flowers**

Fran's flush is lovely, identical in color to the Galbana lilies he left by her bedside last night.

**#44- Tool**

"We both use one another, but that is to be expected."

**#45- Wants**

Balthier's voice is husky," Fran, I-": her eyes are hooded, and he knows she needs this as much as he does.

**#46- hands**

She can feel his hand trembling in hers when they confront Cidolfus.

**#47- Trust**

"How have we lasted this long?" he asks, to which she laughs and nuzzles his cheek.

**#48- Deaf**

Fran's voice trembles, "The Green Word; I hear it not."

**#49- Farewells**

"Make sure to remember me, love," he wheezes, and she squeezes his fragile hand gently.

**#50- Paths**

"Our two paths have converged into one, and for that, I am glad."

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Oh crap...the brackets I put in my summary keep getting deleted...it hurts, I **_need _**those brackets!!! Okay, sorry, moving on, but really-

I took the idea of the challenge from the livejournal community; I made up my own themes before realizing that they had their own theme sets, and before properly joining the community -sigh- Well, I liked how a few of these turned out, so I posted it anyway (and yes, I'm working on chap. 5 of_ The Subtle Knife_...sorta). Reviews are always nice.

**emo fox ATTACK**


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